The present invention is related to the following co-pending US application: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/261,372, filed Oct. 30, 2008.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to analytical devices and, in particular, to analytical test strips and associated methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
The determination (e.g., detection and/or concentration measurement) of an analyte in a fluid sample is of particular interest in the medical field. For example, it can be desirable to determine glucose, cholesterol, acetaminophen and/or HbA1c concentrations in a sample of a bodily fluid such as urine, blood or interstitial fluid. Such determinations can be achieved using analytical test strips, based on, for example, photometric or electrochemical techniques, along with an associated meter. For example, the OneTouch® Ultra® whole blood testing kit, available from LifeScan, Inc., Milpitas, USA, employs an electrochemical-based analytical test strip for the determination of blood glucose concentration in a whole blood sample.
Typical electrochemical-based analytical test strips employ a plurality of electrodes (e.g., a working electrode and a reference electrode) and an enzymatic reagent to facilitate an electrochemical reaction with an analyte of interest and, thereby, determine the concentration of the analyte. For example, an electrochemical-based analytical test strip for the determination of glucose concentration in a blood sample can employ an enzymatic reagent that includes the enzyme glucose oxidase and the mediator ferricyanide. Further details of conventional electrochemical-based analytical test strips are included in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,247, which is hereby incorporated in full by reference.